Homegrown compost

So, my compost bin I think is done, it has pretty decent compost in it (I think either garlic or an onion is growing out of the bin).

Do I need to mix it up with other compost? Or can I just use that neat on the garden, I'm not sure it's really covered in the book, it always talks about 5 types of compost, but when it's your own do you still need the 5 types, or can you just use your own (that being one type).

I'm not sure it's done if you have something growing out of it. Cooked/completed compost should have destroyed all weed seeds and such. Did your compost get really hot? Or are you using the slow method?

The 5 types of compost is for starting out with new boxes. Most people don't have that much home-made compost and most compost you'll find is made up of one, maybe two things, which means it's not as complete in nutrients as home-made compost is. You can start using your own compost from now on for amending the soil after each crop has completed it's life cycle and you're ready to plant another...or if you feel a currently occupied square could really benefit from amendment due to a heavy feeder.

If you have enough home-made compost, and want to put another box in, you're fine using it that way too.

What sort of ingredients did you put into your compost? The more variety you have, the better off you'll be.

My compost was made with the following standard ingredients:

1) kitchen scraps(veggie and fruit)
2) coffee grounds
3) yard waste

In addition to those ingredients, I also added:

1) horse manure
2) alpaca manure
3) rabbit manure
4) fish parts
5) A LOT of shredded leaves from neighborhood yard cleanups
6) alfalfa pellets(rabbit food)

I will consider my homemade compost to consist of 6 different composts because I used a heck of a lot of each of those ingredients listed. In addition to my compost, I'm also adding:

1) lobster compost
2) spent mushroom soil
3) cow manure compost
4) pelletized chicken manure
5) possibly duck-manure-based compost(if I can stop by the garden center tomorrow in NJ)
6) leaf compost(if I can get to it on Saturday)

That may seem like a lot of compost but I want the best possible blend. I never heard of having too much of a variety.

My compost refused to get very hot, although possibly this was due to the fact that it was mostly finished already. I'm going to try again, see what happens.

Anyway, it's mostly just yard waste, kitchen scraps, and grass (which probably just counts as yard waste). Having said that then, maybe what I'll do is mix mine with some Steer Manure and Chicken Manure, that should give enough parts (to my mind) to really fill it out some more).